Definitions

Listed are a few important definitions that will help clarify topics found in articles:

Metaphysics – This is known as the study of the nature of existence beyond the physical world. Using many different resources and philosophies it attempts to answer the question ‘what is’? In other words, what is real and what is an illusion. What is ‘being’ and how does everything relate to each other. This website breaks down the spiritual side of metaphysics, in other words, what is God, what is the purpose for life and where did we come from. Metaphysical teachings typically do not come from traditional scientific sources, although many metaphysical topics are now being explored and even explained by modern science. Metaphysical studies are the way forward in our understanding of life and the universe.

Occult – This is known as ‘hidden’ knowledge or esoteric knowledge. Many people put a negative connotation with this term but it just means that they don’t understand it. It’s usually associated with magic, witchcraft or alchemy but it goes far beyond that. Much of what you will find in the articles here can be defined as occult knowledge. Knowledge from ‘lost’ texts such as the Dead Sea Scrolls or the Nag Hammadi texts would be considered occult knowledge. Much of which is being revealed through channeling, hypnotic regression and mystics are considered occult knowledge. Yes, you can take a negative spin on any topic but for the most part what you will find is positive and enlightening.

Channeling/Automatic Writing – These are a couple ways that higher knowledge and wisdom is passed down to the physical planes. Channeling is a form of hypnosis that involves a medium putting themselves or being put into a trance-like state where another being of higher consciousness communicates (speaks) through them. You don’t necessarily have to be in a hypnotic state and some people channel the same entities on a consistent basis. Examples include Esther Hicks (Abraham), Jane Roberts (Seth) and Darryl Anka (Bashar). Automatic (trance) writing is another form of communication, but it is accomplished through opening yourself up to your inner God and writing it down. Beings can also communicate through automatic writing. It is not the conscious writer giving the wisdom but the higher consciousness. An example is Neale Donald Walsch.

Hypnosis/Hypnotic Regression – Another way that knowledge or wisdom is passed down to the physical planes. It is also used as a healing method for curing phobias, addictions or fears. Regression is a type of hypnotherapy that recalls memories from earlier in life or in previous lives/between lives. There are many misconceptions about hypnotherapy and hypnosis. Below is an excerpt from hypnotherapist Brian Weiss in his book “Same Soul, Many Bodies“, which breaks down some of these common myths:

“When you are hypnotized, you are not asleep. Your conscious mind is always aware of what you are experiencing while you are hypnotized. Despite the deep subconscious contact, your mind can comment, criticize, and censor. You are always in control of what you say. Hypnosis is not a “truth serum.” You do not enter a time machine and suddenly find yourself transported to another time and place with no awareness of the present…. It may sound as though it requires a great deal of skill to reach these deeper levels of hypnosis. However, each of us experiences them with ease every day as we pass through the state between wakefulness and sleeping known as the hypnagogic state…. Listening to someone’s guiding voice aids in focusing concentration and helps a patient to reach a deeper level of hypnosis and relaxation. There is no danger in hypnosis. No person I have ever hypnotized has become “stuck” in the hypnotic state. You can emerge from a state of hypnosis whenever you want. No one has ever violated his or her moral and ethical principles. No one has involuntarily acted like a chicken or a duck. No one can control you. You are in control. In hypnosis, your mind is always aware and observing. This is why people who may be deeply hypnotized and actively involved in a childhood or past life sequence of memories are able to answer the therapist’s questions, speak their current life language, know the geographical places they are seeing, and even know the year, which usually flashes before their inner eyes or just appears in their minds. The hypnotized mind, always retaining an awareness and a knowledge of the present, puts the childhood or past life memories into context. If the year 1900 flashes, and you find yourself building a pyramid in ancient Egypt, you know that the year is B.C., even if you don’t see those actual letters.”

It helps to understand exactly what happens during a hypnotic regression therapy session. The hypnotherapist asks neutral, open-ended questions and does not lead the person being hypnotized. For instance, “what do you see?” or “where are you?” as opposed to making suggestions. There are many well-known hypnotic regressionists including Dolores Cannon,Michael Newton,andRobert Schwartz. Stage hypnosis is completely different and is only really for show. It is not a true presentation of hypnotherapy.

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Critic/Cynic – There is a difference between being a critic and being a cynic. Often these terms are confused. Being critical means taking in evidence from all sides and weighing what exists in order to make an informed opinion. These can be either positive, negative or neutral, but a reasonable and calculated decision is made. A cynic is someone who is negative about a situation or a topic regardless of what is there. People who are cynical are usually closed-minded and not willing to explore something that goes against their belief systems. I encourage everyone to be critical of new information and not cynical. It is very important for taking evidence and drawing conclusions.

Dogma – These are basically belief systems that are passed on to people by way of authority. Most religions operate in this way. What is taught is not questioned if you are to be accepted into their way of thinking. It is taught as the truth. This becomes a dangerous and closed-minded way of viewing something as you can easily be manipulated or brainwashed into believing something that is not factual. It’s how wars are started and how people become so disconnected from each other. There is nothing wrong with utilizing a religion or belief system to progress your spiritual path, but use it only as a guideline, not an absolute. And if it does not fit with your inner God then don’t be afraid to move on.

This is a quote from the question and answers compilation “I Am That“, in which the questioner to Nisargadatta Maharaj gives his observation of westerners who visit the spiritual guru:

“The Westerners who occasionally come to see you are faced with a peculiar difficulty. The very notion of a liberated man, a realised man, a self-knower, a God-knower, a man beyond the world, is unknown to them. All they have in their Christian culture is the idea of a saint: a pious man, law-abiding, God-fearing, fellow-loving, prayerful, sometimes prone to ecstasies and confirmed by a few miracles. The very idea of a jnani is foreign to Western culture, something exotic and rather unbelievable. Even when his existence is accepted, he is looked at with suspicion, as a case of self-induced euphoria caused by strange physical postures and mental attitudes. The very idea of a new dimension in consciousness seems to them implausible and improbable.”

Just another example of the limited wisdom that western people have of the many philosophies and teachings of spirituality from around the world. There is so much more than you have ever been taught.

Namaste – Originating in Hinduism, this is a way of greeting someone. Defined by Mahatma Gandhi: In India when people meet and part they often say, ‘Namaste’ which means: “I honor the place within you where the entire Universe resides; I honor the place within you of love, of light, of truth, of peace; I honor the place within you, where, when you are in that place in you, and I am in that place in me, there is only one of us”. In other words, it means “The God in me sees and honors the God in you”. It’s a way of acknowledging the inner spirit within all of us.